Chinese automaker BYD has launched a legal challenge against the U.S. government, asking a federal trade court to declare that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not permit the imposition of border tariffs and seeking refunds for duties it says it paid beginning last April, according to court filings.
Filed on January 26 at the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, the complaint was brought by four of BYD's U.S. subsidiaries. The suit contends that the plain language of IEEPA does not include the term "tariff" or an equivalent expression and therefore cannot authorize the border levies that were assessed under the statute, the filings state.
The action marks the first time a Chinese carmaker has pursued litigation over the tariffs, joining thousands of other multinational firms that operate in the United States and have separately challenged the administration's use of IEEPA to impose such taxes at the border.
BYD told the court it brought an independent suit to protect its ability to recover the tariff payments it says it has already made. While the company does not market passenger automobiles in the United States, its U.S. operations encompass buses and commercial vehicles as well as energy-related products including batteries, energy storage systems and solar panels.
According to the company's information, BYD North America operates a truck manufacturing plant in Lancaster, California, where it employs roughly 750 people.
The dispute over tariff authority is also the subject of a high-profile matter before the U.S. Supreme Court, which is expected to issue a ruling on the lawfulness of the tariff program. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said last week that the court is taking time with the case given the "enormous" implications at stake.
The BYD case is registered under number 26-00847 at the U.S. Court of International Trade.
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